74) The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

[00:00:30] Casabloga. In this episode, which is the Christmas episode, 2024, I am covering The Best Christmas

[00:00:38] Pageant Ever, which is a 2024 Christmas movie directed by Dallas Jenkins and starring Judy

[00:00:47] Greer, Pete Holmes, Molly Bellwright, and Beatrice Snyder. It is based on The Best Christmas

[00:00:54] Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. I actually grew up with this story, though I didn't actually

[00:01:06] read the book until the movie came out, this movie came out. What I mean is, growing up,

[00:01:14] I watched the original movie countless times. The original movie came out in 1983, it was

[00:01:26] a TV movie, so it was very low budget, it's only about an hour long, it was very short,

[00:01:33] and it's basically just the bare bones basic story. It doesn't really like flesh anything

[00:01:39] out, it's just here's the story, the things happen, and then it ends right away. But it's

[00:01:47] still a really good movie, I grew up watching it. They actually showed it in school all the

[00:01:53] time, it was one of the movies. This and Neverending Story were the two big movies that my teacher

[00:01:59] would play all the time. And yeah, so I've seen it so many times. And then when they announced

[00:02:10] this remake, I was so excited. I was like, really surprised, because nobody had ever heard of it,

[00:02:21] because I would occasionally bring up The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and nobody knew what

[00:02:25] I was talking about. So I just stopped talking about it. And then they released the trailer,

[00:02:32] and I was like, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.

[00:02:35] And I was like so excited. And then, of course, like, I found the audiobook on Hoopla,

[00:02:46] and I listened to it, and I realized that there's actually a little more to this story than I thought,

[00:02:53] because the, like I said, the, the 1983 movie is bare bones, very bare bones. If, and,

[00:03:02] it is free on YouTube. I, I don't, I, it's not public domain. It's definitely not public domain.

[00:03:08] It hasn't been 50 years. Not quite. But, the entire movie is on YouTube. The original TV movie from 1983.

[00:03:21] Not the new one, obviously. I would be watching that so many times. I went and saw this one,

[00:03:29] the new one, the day it came out. I was so excited. And, yeah, I gotta tell you, this is,

[00:03:38] I knew immediately that this was gonna be my Christmas movie. I was like, I actually had it

[00:03:45] listed as my Christmas movie months ago, but, uh, I had to change, after I watched the movie,

[00:03:53] I had to change the label, because I, I wasn't sure if I was gonna like the remake,

[00:04:02] so I was gonna cover the original. So, I wrote the best Christmas passage ever, thinking I was

[00:04:07] covering the original, and then I watched the new one. I'm like, yeah, no, I'm gonna change the label.

[00:04:13] And, yeah, I am covering the new one. It, it is very good. Like, I, I am really bad at

[00:04:28] this sort of thing. Like, talking about, like, liking a movie, I always said, worded the same,

[00:04:35] like, oh, I like this movie, it's really good. Why? Because it was really good.

[00:04:41] But, like, this one follows the book more. Like, the opening narration is almost word for word

[00:04:48] with the opening narration of the book, describing the Herdmans, and, like, burning down the, the shed,

[00:04:55] and, like, if they knew it was good, they wouldn't have done it. And, yeah, and they, they really,

[00:05:02] really go out of your way to show you how bad the Herdmans were on this one.

[00:05:07] But what I like about one, like, there's a lot of things I like about this, but what I most

[00:05:16] notice in this one is that really shows you, like, the sympathetic side of Imogene Herdman.

[00:05:24] Because, like, in the original, in the, the old movie, 1983, you don't really feel anything for her,

[00:05:33] or really any of the Herdmans, there's no indication that any of them change by the end.

[00:05:39] There's just, oh, we're, we're doing this play, and, and then the movie ends, like, right then.

[00:05:48] And there is no indication.

[00:05:51] And, but this one, when, like, throughout the movie, like, it'll show, like, the, uh,

[00:05:59] the actress that plays with Beatrice Snyder, she was really good.

[00:06:03] And I hope she, like, actually, she doesn't even have a Wikipedia page.

[00:06:06] Like, I hope she, like, has, like, a full career, because, like, this, her acting in this.

[00:06:10] She can play, like, really mean, aggressive,

[00:06:14] and you can see why everyone's afraid of her.

[00:06:17] But then she can turn around in the next scene, and you're like, oh, there's, there's a deeper thing going on with this character,

[00:06:24] where she's, she looks at the, the, the painting of, of the Virgin Mary,

[00:06:30] and there's this, I was gonna say, like, longing for something.

[00:06:35] Like, I don't know how to, like, the word, like, they're trying to express sadness.

[00:06:40] Like, she doesn't have a loving mother there for her.

[00:06:44] Because, like, they, they put more emphasis in this version that, no, the mother's there,

[00:06:51] but she's never around.

[00:06:52] She just works all the time.

[00:06:56] And there's a line in there saying that the mother just works all the time to get away from her kids.

[00:07:00] Which, yeah, not, uh, not the best mothering technology,

[00:07:08] knowledge, or, well, parenting technique.

[00:07:11] Not just mother, just, not the best parenting technique.

[00:07:16] Parenting technique.

[00:07:17] Working all the time just to avoid your kids.

[00:07:22] Because, yeah, I wouldn't recommend doing that.

[00:07:26] And there are several times in the, in this movie where it shows them,

[00:07:34] like, the Herdmans actually, you know, you can see them progressing.

[00:07:39] Like, you can see, like, if they make sequels to this,

[00:07:43] then it will show them, like, by the, by the end of the trilogy,

[00:07:48] there'll be Christian kids.

[00:07:50] And everyone will be like, oh, those Herdmans, yeah, they're good kids.

[00:07:53] Uh, but that's not going to happen because there actually are a trilogy of books.

[00:07:58] And I didn't know that until, uh, until now.

[00:08:02] Uh, well, not, like, literally now.

[00:08:04] I meant, like, whenever I was looking up the best Christmas pageant ever audiobook,

[00:08:10] it says part of the Herdman series.

[00:08:14] And I'm like, wait, what?

[00:08:16] There's also the best Halloween ever and the best school year ever.

[00:08:23] And they take place after the best Christmas pageant ever.

[00:08:27] And the Herdmans are bad kids again.

[00:08:31] So, at least in the books, uh, the, the good vibes that the, or the, well, the,

[00:08:41] it has kind of a similar ending in the book as the movie.

[00:08:46] Where, like, it kind of implies that the Herdmans are going to, you know,

[00:08:49] they're on the right track to being good kids.

[00:08:53] But then there's two sequels that shows, oh, actually, no, never mind.

[00:08:56] Forget that.

[00:08:56] Forget the ending of the first book.

[00:09:00] So maybe it's a good thing they don't make those into movies.

[00:09:03] Unless they make them prequels.

[00:09:05] And then the, the ending of the story is best Christmas pageant ever.

[00:09:10] I don't know.

[00:09:11] But, I hope they don't do that.

[00:09:13] Just, just don't even touch the sequels.

[00:09:15] It's like Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.

[00:09:18] We've seen two adaptations.

[00:09:20] There's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

[00:09:22] And then Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

[00:09:24] But let's never touch the sequel.

[00:09:26] Pretend it doesn't exist.

[00:09:27] In fact, I'm sure anyone listening to this,

[00:09:31] this is probably the first time you're hearing that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,

[00:09:34] the book, has a sequel.

[00:09:36] Do not look it up.

[00:09:37] Do yourself a favor.

[00:09:38] I listened to the audiobook long ago.

[00:09:40] I regret it.

[00:09:42] Don't look it up.

[00:09:44] I am warning you.

[00:09:47] And I didn't, uh, I didn't listen to the audiobooks of the sequels,

[00:09:53] because I've read the synopsis,

[00:09:54] and I didn't want it to ruin my outlook on the ending of the first book.

[00:10:01] Because, like, I liked where it left things,

[00:10:04] and then she had to keep making sequels.

[00:10:08] And then, nope, forget the lesson you learned in this book.

[00:10:12] Just wipe it all away.

[00:10:15] We're resetting the characters to being bad kids.

[00:10:17] It's like the next episode of a sitcom.

[00:10:20] We forget everything we just learned.

[00:10:24] This new movie is really good.

[00:10:26] I highly recommend it.

[00:10:33] Yeah, it's currently, like, it just, uh, it was just released into theaters recently.

[00:10:42] Like, I forget how long ago it was.

[00:10:44] Like, two, three weeks ago.

[00:10:46] So, it's not streaming anywhere yet.

[00:10:48] I don't know where it will stream.

[00:10:50] I don't know.

[00:10:52] I did message the official Twitter account.

[00:10:56] I was like, hey, uh, I'm doing this episode,

[00:10:58] and I want to know when it's streaming.

[00:11:01] And, like, because, like, it's going to come out at Christmas,

[00:11:03] and I don't know if it'll be streaming by then.

[00:11:05] And I even explained, like, I want to say, like, hey, where is it going to be available?

[00:11:10] And they never responded.

[00:11:11] So, um, yeah.

[00:11:15] Currently, you can't watch it anywhere.

[00:11:17] But, like I said, you can watch the 1983 movie for free on YouTube.

[00:11:24] It is, uh, inferior to the new film, but it is still really good.

[00:11:30] And that's not just nostalgia talking.

[00:11:33] Because, like, I was watching it.

[00:11:34] Like, oh, I remember this.

[00:11:35] Oh, I remember this scene.

[00:11:36] Oh, this is that part.

[00:11:38] And there was a couple parts that I was like, oh, that's where this is from.

[00:11:41] Because I have, like, vague memories of something.

[00:11:44] And I'm like, where did I, where did I get that memory from?

[00:11:46] And then, like, the scene will come on.

[00:11:47] Like, oh, this is from here.

[00:11:50] Uh, but, I'm also speaking as a movie.

[00:11:54] Like, I give the 1983 movie, like, uh, 7 out of 10.

[00:12:02] And the new one, I give, like, a 9 out of 10.

[00:12:06] So, like, this, I'm not really doing rankings anymore on this show.

[00:12:10] But, yeah.

[00:12:12] Just to give you an idea.

[00:12:13] Like, it's still good.

[00:12:14] It's just, it'll hold you over until the new one is streaming.

[00:12:20] Or available on Blu-ray.

[00:12:21] I plan on buying it, maybe.

[00:12:24] I don't know.

[00:12:24] We'll see when it, uh, when it comes out.

[00:12:28] I will definitely be streaming it.

[00:12:32] And...

[00:12:34] I forgot to mention that Dallas Jenkins is the creator of The Chosen.

[00:12:40] Which is that show about the life of Jesus.

[00:12:44] I've been watching that one.

[00:12:46] They've just finished season 4.

[00:12:48] They're filming season 5 right now.

[00:12:50] And they're planning on doing 7 seasons.

[00:12:52] And I cannot wait.

[00:12:54] I just had to throw that out there.

[00:12:57] And...

[00:12:57] Cut.